See You On Wednesday!!

This was my last week as a missionary! This was also one of the best weeks of my mission. We worked so hard and saw SO many miracles! I am so thankful for this time that I have had to serve a mission. I've learned a lot about myself, and a lot that I know will help me become who my Heavenly Father needs me to be. I've met so many people, and have had so many experiences here that have changed me for good. But let me tell you about my last week!  

Monday was tons of fun! We had dinner at the Schofield's after P-day. Apparently Sister Schofield is a widely known author of some organization books! Mom, do you have some organization books by Deniece Schofield? I think you do. She gave me one of her books! After dinner at their house, we went to the church for our ward's Family Home Evening Fellowship Game Night! It was a lot of fun and was super successful! We had quite a few less active families and nonmembers there and there were tons of members. It was fun to play games with everyone and have people fellowship others! There were tons of people. After the game night, we had Kaycee and Gabe's baptismal interviews. They were both super nervous to meet other missionaries (obviously, other missionaries are scary) but both ended up loving Elder Keogan, and they were all super happy. While they were in their interviews, Brother White, from our Bishopric, told us about his mission in Puerto Rico! 

Tuesday we had an awesome district meeting! Elder Keogan trained us on prayer, and not just prayer, but super specific prayer and teaching people how to pray. I've taught people to pray like ten thousand times, but this was awesome! At the end, we broke into companionships and had a time where we prayed together really specifically. It was awesome. We saw so many miracles come from it. After we left, we had a lesson with a lady named Linda. We brought Hayley Hightower with us. She was telling us all about her sewing, and Hayley mentioned Young Women's, and how it would be a great chance for the girls to get to learn how to sew! Our investigator got so excited and offered to teach them all! We told her about the Christmas video, and she was really excited to watch it. We went to see Thea as well, and she told us that she wanted to come to church on Sunday! We stopped by Sister Daniels' house to see how she was doing and Priscilla was there, so we showed them both the Christmas video. The spirit was so strong as we talked about the Savior and the real meaning of Christmas. Sister Daniels' was in tears, as were we. We went to contact a potential, Gloria. We were invited right in, and they told us that they had met with missionaries before and they wanted to be baptized, but then the Elders had been transferred and it just never happened! They were really excited to start meeting with us again. It was amazing. We knelt with them to pray, and one of the girls asked how to pray, and we were able to use what we had just been taught in district meeting to teach her to pray specifically. Not only was it incredible to find this totally prepared family of 5 to teach, but they had a less active member that was living there that we had been trying to get in contact with! Ah! We were dying, it was so cool. We had dinner at the Davis' house, and then stopped by the church and got to see the little primary girls practicing their dance for the Christmas party! So cute. We went over to read the Book of Mormon with Kaycee - we got the kids version with the pictures, she loved it! Then we ended the night by meeting with Brother Judd and reading Enos. Tuesday was our miracle day. 

But it didn't stop there! Wednesday morning we went to see Sister Rock, and her mom let us come in their house! Not only that, but she stayed to talk to us, and even watched the Christmas Mormon message with us! It was incredible! We stopped by the Loveall's, and they weren't home, but just as we were getting into the car to leave, they pulled up! We were able to talk to Justin for a little bit, and see what is going on there and help them out. We then got to meet Sister Lee and her son and his family for lunch! She took us out to Buffalo Wild Wings - it was so good to see her! I love the Lee's so much. After that we talked to Brother Schmidt for a little bit and he told us all about his neighbors that we should teach, and then told us some of his really cool mission stories. We taught Gabe about tithing, and after the lesson, his mom came in (she is a nonmember) and thanked us for teaching him and helping her kids, it was tender. Then she made us take some fresh pastries home. We stopped by a less active's home and she told us she wanted to start meeting with us, and we offered to help her move, for which she was very thankful. We had a lesson with the Babcock's and we taught them the CPR lesson with the cups, which they LOVED. They had 2 nonmember friends over, and the 9 year old was fascinated with what we were telling him! His mom is an atheist, so he didn't know who God was or anything. We taught him how to pray, and it was the sweetest experience of my life. Literally. We told him what prayer was and he responded with, "Woah! I want to talk to God!" So we taught him how, and he did it! Afterwards, this 9 year old boy - Luis, told us simply that he felt so good! As we were leaving, he looked at me and said, "Thank you for teaching me how to pray!" I almost cried, it was so sweet, and the spirit was so strong. We had dinner at the Williams house - they are awesome and so nice. Another miracle, she gave us some Doterra Oils because she doesn't use them, and she knew Sister Chevalier loves Doterra- after we left their house we went to see Priscilla, who has been sick and liked the peppermint oil that Sister Chevalier let her use - so we were able to give her her own bottle of peppermint oil! Yay! Priscilla's 10 year old daughter, Rebecca, stayed for the lesson that night. She has been to church a lot with her grandma who is a member, and she talked a lot about how she really wants to be baptized. We also were able to teach her how to pray, and she did! We got to end the night at sweet Sister Plett's home doing service for her. 

Thursday we met with a less active that was a referral from the sisters, they street contacted him. His name is Khaled and he is from Egypt! He is so cool! He told us a lot about him and his family and growing up in Egypt. He found the church when he came to America and lived in California.  He was baptized 15 years ago, and then moved right away and never found the church! He hasn't been in 15 years! He is so eager to re-learn and he is so excited about coming back to church. When we were walking into his house, we got to street contact this lady that was walking her dog. Apparently her husband is less active and was on the "do not contact" list, so no one had been able to contact them in years. She told us all about all her nieces and nephews that are on missions, and was so nice to us! She told us to stop by and see them, and teach her. She told us that she had been thinking a lot lately, and that she was thinking of getting baptized... uh what. Haha, miracle number ten thousand. It was nuts. Later, we taught Gabe and Kaycee the CPR with cups lesson, had dinner at the Saenz house, and went to stop to see the Loveall's. We officially started teaching the two twin 9 year old boys that are living at the Loveall's home, Jesus and Abel. They are super sweet. We tried to see Fidel with Brother Brandt, but he wasn't home from work yet. We got to see Sister Rock though, and we read Alma 50 with her. 

Friday morning at 6:30am we and the Elders went to the stake center to help our ward set up for the ward Christmas Party. Elder Keogan wanted revenge for all the little pranks that Sister Smith and I pulled on him, so as they left, he stuffed my bag full of toilet paper. I wasn't fazed. Lame prank. Hahahaha. Later that day, we got to see Luis and the Babcock's. We taught him about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, because he didn't know who they were. We also taught him the Restoration! He prayed at the end to know if it was true, and after he prayed he looked up and said, "I feel all tingly!" IT WAS SO AWESOME! He felt and recognized the Spirit, as a sweet, little, 9-year-old! Ah. We later taught Gabe about Baptism and Confirmation, and then we got to go to our ward Christmas Party! It was so, so, so much fun! They had talents, good food, sing a longs, and a hilarious 12 days of Christmas sing a long. Probably one of the best ward parties ever. We got to see Priscilla that night too! 

Saturday we had coordination meeting, and then Sister Chevalier had to be tutored for math during lunch, so I got to play with the Hanna's twins.  After that, it was time for Kaycee and Gabe's baptism! It was incredible! They were both so nervous, but it was amazing. Afterwards, Kaycee and Gabe bore their testimonies. Kaycee said that she felt so good, she couldn't even describe it! Afterwards, I was talking to her and she told me she wished she could always feel like that. I love that girl. The baptism was so good. We had dinner at the Holly's that night.

Sunday was good! Luis came with the Babcock kids! And Thea came, too. It was so funny. During testimony meeting, she got up to bear her testimony... She talked about how she felt really welcome there, and how she just wanted to "PRAAAAISE JESUS!" Hahahahah, the Bishopric was trying to hold back laughter. It was so funny. I love Thea. Kaycee's mom came for the confirmation! Kaycee and Gabe got confirmed, and it was awesome, as well. Kaycee bore her testimony, and it was so sweet. I just love being a missionary. A great last Sunday. 

Today was fun. I had my final interview with President Snow. He is the greatest. I love him. He took me and Sister Ichikawa (a temple square sister that I went to interviews with - she is leaving back to temple square) out to lunch afterwards. It was really fun and cool to just go sit with President and have lunch. He told us about his mission and about how he and Sister Snow met :) We got to play laser tag for my last p-day as a district! Lots of fun. We have a few lessons planned for tonight, too. 

I will go to the temple tomorrow morning and will go to the departing missionary testimony meeting - I am singing a special musical number with Sister Cummings... don't know how I got roped into that one. Yikes. Hahah. Then we will have dinner at the mission home and stay the night there. 

I'll be home on Wednesday! I'm excited, and nervous, and happy, and sad. I love being a missionary, but I am so glad that I can be a missionary for the rest of my life. This has just prepared me for the rest of my life. I am so thankful for this choice experience I have had. I know that this is Christ's Gospel restored on the Earth today, and that our Father in Heaven loves us and knows us personally.

Have a good week! I love you all. Thank you!

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Chevalier

 

 

Sister Chevalier, Gabe, Kaycee, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

Kaycee and Sister Coltrin

 

 

Sister Chevalier and Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

One Week

THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF MY MISSION? What the heck, where has the time gone. I am full of different emotions. I am sad to leave, but happy to be able to go home and apply all the things I've learned on my mission into real life. I am definitely excited to be a missionary for life though. If there's one thing I've come to love, it's sharing the Gospel.

This week was great (and also not-so-great, hahaha)! Monday I can't remember what we did for p-day. Oh wait, yes I do - our district went bowling! It was so fun! I'm terrible at bowling, obviously, but it was great. When we came home, I was starting to get itchy. I realized that, once again, I was covered from head to toe in hives! Ah! I showered off, and covered myself in anti-itch cream, and then we went to the Gough's, and Brother Gough gave me a blessing. After that we went to teach Fidel, and we did the Church, Pray, Read lesson with cups - he loved it! We also got to go and see Gabe and teach him the 10 commandments. I love seeing Gabe and his little brother, Jimmy, and their sister, Talitha! They are all so fun! 

Tuesday at District Meeting (sorry, I mean "District Council" since they are making us all call it that now) we learned all about the Church's new "He is the Gift" initiative! Have you heard of it? Go to christmas.mormon.org and watch the video, and then share it using #sharethegift ! It is seriously a great video. Go watch it! We got to see Fidel again, and then for lunch, the Hightower's invited us over for their early Thanksgiving meal! It was awesome! Sister Hightower made us the cutest little turkeys with candy feathers! They are cute. We love the Hightower's. We stopped by to see the Witz family as well, and Stan taught us some self defense moves, hahaha! We saw Gabe that afternoon and then had dinner with the Hidden Canton Leavitt's! They made us pizza... but instead of bread they used rice. It was actually awesome! We met with Orion at the church before they left for their Young Men's activity at the Pin-Ball Hall of Fame. One of Orion's friends, Noah, stopped in and asked if he could sit in on the lesson. He is a member in the ward, and it was so sweet to hear him help Orion and bear his testimony to him. We went to see Kaycee and go over the baptismal interview question with her, and then went to see Priscilla. We taught her the Restoration! Afterwards, we went in to see Sister Daniels (who Priscilla lives with) and talk to her. She has to most amazing stories, especially her conversion story. We could tell she was struggling, so we asked her what we could do (she is really sick with MS), so she asked if the next day we could dust her shelves! We happily agreed to, of course! 

Wednesday morning we went to Sister Daniels home and cleaned (more than just dusting the shelves, of course!) for a while! It was great - I love helping. The middle of the day was the best - Shealeigh (AKA SISTER SMITH) came with her parents and took us out to lunch at Five Guys! IT WAS SO FUN! I love Sister Smith! 

*Note: I am running out of time, so this is going to get way less interesting* 

Thursday morning at 1am I woke up feeling really sick... and then threw up. And then continued to throw up every 45 minutes. Hooray for getting the flu on Thanksgiving! We had to cancel all our fun activities and I slept the whole day. We stopped at Walmart to get me some Gatorade and Meds, and I thought I was going to pass out - so I had to sit on the floor of Walmart. Yes, everybody, I am officially one of "those" people. Hahahha. What a memorable Thanksgiving! Luckily our wards are great and tons of people took care of us and brought Sister Chevalier Thanksgiving leftovers! And, on the bright side, I got to watch the "Joy to the World" video about nine thousand times, so I'm really in the Christmas spirit! :) 

Friday was the same thing... hahaha. 

Saturday was also the same thing. But Saturday was my official 18 month mark! 

Sunday I was feeling better, and had started eating some solid food again. We went to church, and the Gough's invited us over for their delayed Thanksgiving meal! It was so fun! I absolutely love that family. That night we got to go to a baptismal service with Kaycee and Sister Smith so that Kaycee could see what a baptism is like (she is a bit nervous). At the baptism, there was a guy there that spoke and shared something about serving a mission in Michigan! Naturally I had to ask where, and, no kidding, he served in HOLLAND! He remembered Brother Bartels (the older one) being the Bishop, and Bishop Bartels (the younger) being the Ward Mission Leader!!!! It was awesome!! 

Fun week! Okay, pray for me and my last week on a mission. I need it! 

Have a good week, I love you all! Talk to you next week for a last email!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

Bowling on P-day with the District

Chevalier, Rawlins, Rich, Medeiros, Beers, Coltrin, Herron

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Chevalier at the Hightower's for early-week Thanksgiving!

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Chevalier with the Hightower's

 Teaching!

Sister Chevalier, Jimmy, Gabe (our 9 year old investigator), Talitha, and Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

Sister Coltrin reunited with Sister Shealeigh Smith

 

 

 

2 Weeks

 

THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME. Well, it was just like any other week, but every week is awesome. I have 2 weeks left... which doesn't feel real, so I'm just being normal like I'm never going home. I don't understand what all this "trunky" stuff is - all you have to do is pretend like it's not real, hahaha.

Anyways, let's start with Monday. On Monday we went to Sister Snyder's house and made Oreo balls for lots of our investigators and some other families in the ward! It was a lot of fun and it was nice to be able to give treats to people. That night we met with a part member family and started teaching the 9 year old son! Gabe loves church and he even promised us that instead of playing "Call of Duty" all weekend, he was going to just read The Book of Mormon... much to our surprise, he actually did!  They are a sweet family, the older sister, Talitha, comes to church on her own with her Grandma. Gabe is excited to get baptized! We also stopped to see Kawika and his family. They have had a lot going on lately, so we went over just to visit with them. 

Tuesday I went to the Doctor for my hives. I can't remember if I wrote about hives in my last email or not? Basically I've been breaking out in hives for a long time now, so they made me go to the dermatologist. When we were there, we met a really old lady and she was a Holocaust survivor! She was really sweet and cool. We also got to visit with the Babcock's again that day - they are so sweet and their kids are a lot of fun. Our dinner appointment cancelled, and she told us to stop over to get some money to go out to eat - $20 each! It was nuts! We treated ourselves to In N Out, naturally. We got to meet with Orion and Trinity, who was actually having a good day, so we got to talk about the Plan of Salvation. It's still so neat to watch Orion help his sister understand the Gospel. We went over to see Kaycee, and we talked about baptism and confirmation. It was a cool lesson! We talked to her mom, and she agreed that Kaycee was doing a lot better, and now Kaycee and Gabe are having a combined baptism on December 6th! We all are so excited! It was a great Tuesday! 

Wednesday we had exchanges, and I got to be with Sister Hope in her area. It was a lot of fun! Unfortunately I broke out in hives all over my back, but there is a lady in their ward that loves essential oils and energy work, so we went over there and she helped me out. That morning we taught a guy named Armin that came to church in my ward. We taught him about the Restoration, and he loved it! He was really receptive and could see the blessing that would come from the Gospel. We had district meeting, as well, and met with lots of people who's names I don’t remember because I only met them once.  I love Sister Hope, though - she's so sweet. 

Thursday was hilarious and awesome! In the morning we met with a guy named Juan that showed up at church - he clearly only came for the financial help. We met with him and it got crazy. We were talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how Christ has done so much for us. He basically told us that he doesn't believe in God or Jesus Christ. He only believes in a higher power and he believes in the Virgin Mary... So he believes in the mother of the Son of God, but not in the Son of God, or in God... so there was really just no logic there. He also told us that he is bipolar and has some brain injuries... So while he was screaming at us about all of that, all I could think of was back when I was in Henderson and the Elders had to come get us out of our bipolar investigator's house... hahahha. But, after that, Sister Chevalier and I got to go to the temple! It was so peaceful and awesome. I saw tons of people there from Anthem! I saw Sister Rumsey and the Rickey's, and also a lady I knew back in Sunrise! It was so fun! We got to see Karla and Monzie with our Bishop's wife as well! We talked about the Plan of Salvation. They both told us that they feel really peaceful about the things we have taught them, and that they would like to get baptized! They are so awesome! We just hope we get to meet with them more, since they have crazy schedules! For dinner we went to the Stapleton's and had a "southern Thanksgiving meal" - it was sweet. I don't really know what it was, but it was some sort of dumplings and cornbread and Thanksgiving-y type things. That night we saw Sherry again and read the Book of Mormon with her, we saw Gabe again, and we helped Sister Plett vacuum her home and make her bed!

Friday was weekly planning. During lunch, for some reason, Sister Chevalier were talking about crazy people and getting attacked, so we practice getting out of choke holds... you know, just in case someone comes and chokes us... It was so funny. The funnier part was later that night when we were waiting for our investigator to answer the door and Sister Chevalier turned around in the dark on the porch and put my in a choke hold - hahahahahaha. I was so shocked that I didn't even move. But that day we got to see Sister Joseph, who told us her husband who we were teaching is going back to prison for 4 more years. My goodness. We had dinner, and got to see the Green's. Brother Green is really awesome, and his wife is a non-member, but she has come with him every Sunday for the past 10 years! We got to know them and just talked to them. We saw Gabe again, and we also got to see Priscilla again! We met with her and talked to her about church. She is going through a really hard time, as well, so keep her in your prayers! 

Saturday we had coordination meeting in the morning, and then got to see Sister Rock! She got a new car and passed her driver's license test! We were really excited for her! We then went to meet a less active/ part member family, the Witz Family. You guys. I cannot explain to you how cool this family is. Actually, I can. I kid you not, Brother Witz was Chuck Norris' body guard! FOR REAL. He is the owner of some huge martial arts foundation and teaches all over the world! They almost didn't let us in, but then they did... and they LOVED us. They talked to us for over an hour, and told us to come back the next week! He offered to teach a self defense class at the church! It was a miracle! So cool. We saw CJ and Amanda, and then had dinner at the Brandt's. Brother Brandt is one of our ward missionaries. They are so sweet and so cool! They made us a cake, and we were eating it, and Sister Brandt said it was a special cake that her mom used to make during the war. She said it was so hard to get eggs and oil for a cake, that instead, they would use MAYO. So the cake, which was delicious, was made out of MAYO. I almost died. I couldn't even imagine how something so good could contain something that I hate so much. It was funny. After that, we felt prompted to stop by the Loveall's house. Apparently, their car just got totaled, and Justin's shoulder was out of place, and one of the boys has been sick with an ear infection for 2 weeks, and everything was crazy, and they all felt tension. We called up their home teachers and they came over (literally they were there 5 minutes later) and gave Justin and Jayden blessings, and then they blessed the home. The difference was incredible! I am so thankful for the Priesthood. 

Sunday was church. We had 7 investigators come! Church was great. Afterwards we had dinner at the Ebaugh's. We stopped by Karla and Monzie's house, and we talked with Karla and Isaac for a little bit. Violet was running around and chatting away as usual, but she said something that hit us pretty hard! Among all her shouting, she told us that she had been praying while we were gone! This sweet little 4 year old girl has been praying! Violet loves to pray, so we prayed with them at the door step, and Violet said it. She is the cutest. To end the night, we stopped by Fidel's house. We finally got to talk to him! He has been working like crazy! We were "talking" to his family too - they only speak Spanish, so for 20 minutes we all tried to speak to each other, it was so funny. My high school Spanish is so bad. It's hilarious. 

This week was so good, I am so blessed and I love being a missionary. Have a Happy and safe Thanksgiving! 

I am so grateful for my family and friends, and for this chance I have to serve my Father in Heaven in helping others to come unto Christ. I am grateful for the Savior, Jesus Christ, and his sacrifice for us so that we can live again with God. I am happy to have the restored Gospel in my life. I'm happy to be here in Las Vegas!

 

Have a good week! I love you all!

 

 

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Weeks

Only 3 weeks to go – how can that be possible?!? 

Last Monday we played laser tag with our district. I wasn't the worst this time! I actually did pretty well! After p-day we had dinner with the Clarke's and then met with Jordan and read scriptures with her and tried to help her out with her impossible situation. 

Tuesday, almost all of our lessons cancelled! But we did get to see some miracles! We got to meet with a less active family. The husband is out of town all the time for work, so it's really hard for the wife to find the motivation to get all her kids ready and bring them to church by herself. While we were there visiting, she was really warming up to us! Then, all of a sudden, we heard screaming in the backyard, and her 2 year old son had fallen in the pool, and was sinking on the tarp that was covering it (thank goodness for the tarp!). We all booked it out there to save him. It was really scary, but he was fine, and we helped her, and left. We texted her the next day, and she asked us if we could find a ride for her kids to go to church! She couldn't make it because she had to pick her husband up from the airport, but it's a huge first step! We were so excited! We also got to see Fidel! He was sick, but still wanted to meet with us. He is so excited to be baptized! We taught him about a living Prophet, and about the Word of Wisdom, and he was happy to give up those things. Fidel is so awesome! We also got to go and visit with Kaycee that night. She told us that she was giving a talk in primary on Sunday about repentance, so we helped her to write it! She told me what she wanted to say, and I wrote it down for her! We are so happy that the primary is getting her so involved! 

Wednesday we saw Fidel again, and also Amanda and CJ in the afternoon. We also got to go see Kawika and the Brown's to talk about the promises we make at baptism! We had dinner at the Whipple's house, and Sister Whipple is so cool! She told us basically her whole life story, and it was so fun to hear! She even grew up with Elder Roger's family, which was funny to hear about, hahaha. We met with Sister Rock that night, too! We love her. We saw Jordan again, and talked to her more about repentance and changing. 

Thursday literally everyone cancelled on us: Fidel, Monzie and Karla, the Brown's, Orion, everyone! BUT we did stop in to see Sister Daniels, and caught her non-member daughter in law at home. We talked to her for a little while, and she told us that she wanted us to come and teach her more about the Gospel! It was amazing, she is so sweet, and we love her already! We had an awkward dinner at a member's home, and then went to help Sister Plett clean her house! We ended the day at Brother Judd's home and read the scriptures with him. 

Friday we got to teach Monzie about the Plan of Salvation! It was a really awesome lesson, until her mom called and asked her where she had left her credit card... then the whole house erupted in searching for the card before she got home. Yikes. We will probably have to re-teach that one... We had weekly planning, dinner, and then Sister Chevalier went to a baptism in her last area, while I stayed with Hayley Hightower and we went to teach some lessons! It was so much fun! We saw the Loveall's and showed them mormonmessages.org and watched some videos with them. We also saw Kaycee and talked about the Book of Mormon. Everyone that we talked to made a return appointment with us, so that was really awesome too! I love Hayley! 

Saturday was my last Zone Training Meeting. I was fine, until about halfway through when it really hit me that I'm going home in 3 weeks. I cried like a baby. And the Zone Leader's made me bear my testimony at the end. It was a sad day, but it was good. We had coordination meeting that afternoon and dinner, and then went to see Sister Daniel's daughter in law, Priscilla! We watched Finding Faith in Christ with her! We kind of expected her to forget about the appointment, but she was ready for us, and even had snacks! She was excited! We love her. 

Sunday was church, and I spoke in Sacrament meeting about the Restoration. We had dinner at Sister Law's house, and then went to the Why I Believe Fireside, which was amazing. 

This week will be awesome! We are excited.

Have a great week!

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

PS. Sorry for the lame email, too much going on and not enough time to write.



 

We were in the MTC together and will all be going home in 3 weeks

One Month To Go!

I LOVE NORTH!  We had a great week. Our investigators are so awesome!  

Monday we played sports and then went to the Holly's house for dinner and Family Home Evening. They had the Loveall's over, along with Justin's sister in law who is not a member. It was awesome! We taught the Restoration to everyone, all the little kids participated and loved it! Afterwards, Esmeralda (Justin's sister in law) talked to us about what we had taught. She kept asking us question for an hour! It was incredible! She was so excited to learn and was so happy that her questions were finally being answered. We talked to her for a long time, and she asked us to come the next day to share more with her! She is so sweet. She is 20 and lives with the Loveall's with her boyfriend. 

Tuesday we had a short district meeting and made district goals - or a "vision" as our mission just loves to call it (isn't that right, Sister Smith?). After that we met with CJ and Amanda to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We got to go back to the Loveall's to see Esmeralda. We went over the Restoration and talked about the Plan of Salvation. She absolutely loved it, and told us over and over again that she has already learned so much more than ever before. It is so sweet how excited she is, and how receptive to the Gospel she is! She had a miscarriage, and thinks about her baby boy all the time - she loved knowing that she could see him again, and that he was safe. I love being able to teach people, and to help them to have hope. We gave her a Book of Mormon, and she started reading as soon as we left! We got to go see Frankie and talk to her more about the Book of Mormon. We went to dinner at the Davis' and they told us about their miracle of the week! Their son is not a member, and is against the church. He was really sick this week, and was lying in bed. Sister Davis went in to check on him, and he was so sick that he called her back and asked her if she would call someone from the church to come and give him a blessing! He is warming up to the Gospel! We are going to help her paint this week, as well. The Davis' recently got sealed, and they are so sweet - we love them! We went over and taught Kaycee about tithing and fasting, and made a goal for her to be baptized on Nov 29. She is working really hard to show her mom that she wants to be baptized. She is so sincere and sweet. She bore her testimony to her mom - powerful 11 year old! 

Wednesday was our mission tour! Elder Foster of the Seventy, and his wife, came to tour our mission. We got to meet over in east Las Vegas (got lost on the way, of course) and be with him for half the day. It was amazing! Afterwards, we met with Orion's sister, Trinity. She was having a bad day, so we tried to work on some personal progress with her. Her mom came down to talk to us, and told us all about their family background and how they are a polygamist family... Dot, dot, dot sums that up pretty well. We were so confused, hahaha. They aren't members of the church. It was just an interesting experience, learning about their family. Hahaha. We went to the William's house for dinner, and it was their son's birthday! Then we went to see Monzie and Carla with Sister Law, and talked about the Book of Mormon. They love it! We went to see Esmeralda to finish up the night. She is so giddy about the Book of Mormon - she glows and talks all about it!  She says that she feels so good when she reads it! Her whole countenance has changed! 

Thursday we saw Sister Joseph and started reading with her, too! We got to watch the Restoration DVD with Carla and Monzie, and it was so powerful. They were asking questions, and afterward, Monzie said, "Wow, it feels like that really happened!" I love teaching people the Restoration. It changes lives. They are amazing! We read that afternoon with Esmeralda! We went to the Taber's for dinner and had absolutely massive pieces of pumpkin pie cake. It was sooo good, but we both thought we were going to explode afterwards! We ended the night seeing Sherry - which went really well, she opened up to us a lot about where she is and what she believes.  Then we saw Sister Rock, and then Brother Judd. 

Friday was weekly planning. We got to meet a new family in the ward, and see CJ and Amanda, and had dinner at the Barton's, who are the sweetest and most accomplished couple I have ever known! We helped Sister Plett with her vacuuming afterwards. 

Saturday was crazy! We had coordination meetings at 8am, and 9am; had a lesson at 10am, and 11am. We met with Jordan (who had previously been missing) that morning. Her home situation is so bad! We brought her food and clothes during our lunch hour. She is so sweet though. We love Jordan. She has made mistakes in the past, but just wants to be baptized, and to have peace in her life. We got to see Fidel again with Brother Brandt - we taught him about the Plan of Salvation! He still wants to be baptized on the 29th! That night we went to the Loveall's home and watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration with them and Esmeralda. The spirit was so, so, so strong, and it was very powerful! She loved it and so did the family. They asked lots of questions and made really good comments. Even 9 year old Anthony had tons to say! 

Sunday was awesome, too! We had 7 investigators at church. Monzie and Jordan and Kaycee sat with us, along with Sister Joseph and the Askin's! Brother Judd sat a few rows in front of us - we were full of investigators and recent converts! In the next ward, I sat in the back, and saw Fidel come in! He made it! We were so excited - and he loved it! So many people introduced themselves to him. That night Jordan got a blessing from the Elders. We took them home, and when they were taking their bikes off the rack, one of them realized that he had strapped his helmet to his handle bars, and that it fell off while we were driving, haha. Oops. 

I love it here!

Have a good week!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

The North Zone with Elder and Sister Foster and President and Sister Snow

 

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Chevalier

 

 

 

 

 

First Week Of My Last Transfer

This is going to be SUPER short because I don't have much time, sorry! 

This was the first week of my last transfer as a full time missionary. Currently I am going back and forth between freaking out and being totally and completely fine. Hahaha. 

Sister Chevalier is my new companion. She is from Montana and Utah. She is 25 and has been out for a year. She loves natural medicine and sleeping and essential oils. 

This week was great! We found 7 new investigators, and I will try to quickly tell you about all of them! 

Ella, Monzy, Carla, and Isaac were found while we were walking back to our car at night. Ella and Monzy were outside trying to put oil into their car. We stopped to talk to them and to help them! They had just moved into the neighborhood and area 2 months ago and don't know anyone yet - they are missing having a group of friends. We told them about what we do, and about church and they invited us to come back! Ella is the mother of Monzy (19), Carla (17), Isaac (12), and Violet (4). They are super sweet! We went back to see them and taught them the Restoration. It was great, and they are all really excited to be able to come to church when they can. Pray that they will be able to, because they have insane work schedules! 

Frankie, Jocelyn, and Latonya were found while, once again, we were walking back to our car. Frankie is a sweet, 82 year-old lady, and Joscelyn is her 14 year-old granddaughter. We talked to them and they absolute love Christ, and try to center their lives around Him. They told us we could come back, so we did, and taught them and 2 others in the family about the Restoration. It was powerful and sweet. 

We also started meeting with a part member family, the Joseph's. Michelle Joseph is a double amputee, and has a hard time coming to church due to health reasons. We are teaching her husband, Demetrius, and he is very excited about the Gospel! He is excited to get back into a church, and told us he couldn't wait to be baptized. He loved the idea of a modern day Prophet, and decided to be baptized on November 29th. He is awesome! They live around the corner from CJ and Amanda, so they are going to come with us to teach him! 

We are teaching Orion's sister, Trinity, as well! She loves Young Women's. We taught her the Restoration and it was so sweet to watch Orion try to help his sister understand. 

This week was great! Transfers went well, we are working hard! We also got to go to the mission office on Halloween night. All the missionaries go there from 6-9:30pm, it was tons of fun!

Thanks for all the love and prayers!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

You Don't Even Know How Much I Love This Place!

You don't even know how much I love this place! I literally love being a missionary in Las Vegas. I LOVE it. This week was the last week of the transfer and we worked so hard! It was Sister Smith's last week as a missionary and it ended pretty well! We had a blast this week and ended with two amazing baptisms. 

Monday was p-day! Sister Smith had a doctor's appointment, we emailed, and then we went grocery shopping. We were on the hunt for the best Vegas souvenirs to take home - and we definitely found them. We got the coolest Vegas shirts! I will try to send a pic next week! We had dinner at the Nelson's and then brought cupcakes over to the Smith's for Trinity's birthday (Orion's little sister). It was sweet to see her and serve her on her birthday! She is a sweet girl! We stopped by the Franken's house, and Brother Franken dared me and Sister Smith to challenge each other at Foosball. We did, and I won - Foosball champ! ;) 

Tuesday was District Meeting. After that we had a lesson with a less active that wants to start coming back, and wants her non-member husband to meet with us! She was so sweet! Her nephew plays for the Lakers - so she showed us tons of pictures and jerseys, it was funny. We also met with CJ and Amanda and talked about CPR - church, pray, read. It was a really great lesson! We saw Orion and taught the same thing - we sat outside the church because we were locked out, haha. It was awesome though - teaching Orion is really great because he is so thoughtful about the Gospel, and he has a really sincere heart. We love Orion! We had dinner with our investigator's, Kaycee and her family. It was so good! Then we had a lesson with them about CPR (again, haha!). We stopped by Sister Rock's house and heart attacked her door for her birthday, and then stopped at the Snyder's for coordination meeting. 

Wednesday morning I had a doctor's appointment for my back again and got new prescriptions. We got to go to the doctor's in the west mission, so I can finally say that I've been to Summerlin! Later that day we taught Orion and went over the baptismal interview questions with him and talked about the importance of baptism and of the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was awesome. We also met with CJ and Amanda to do the same thing. We had dinner at the Huston's with their tons and tons of hilarious children, and the ran over to Sherry's house to read from the Book of Mormon with her. 

Thursday we contacted a few referrals in the morning, and then we had baptismal interviews for a while. We had to pick up the Elders and bring them to Amanda's house to have the DL interview her. She passed with flying colors, and was so excited to get baptized. While the rest of us waited, Sister Smith had us all try her Canadian candy that she got in a package - CJ was very skeptical of it.  After the interview, we took them over to the church and met Orion and Brother Smith there for Orion's interview. It was great! As Orion was coming out of the room from being interview, Sister Smith was standing by the door, and she scared him - and he fell on the ground, hahaha. We were all laughing. Orion was so excited to be baptized! After that, I started having this weird allergic reaction! We went to see Kawika, and had dinner, and afterwards, my face was covered in itchy welts and my throat was tight. We went home for a little bit, and I took some Benadryl and then we went to sit at the church and listen to the stake choir practice. It was so weird. 

Friday was weekly planning, as usual. We also got to see Amanda, and a new investigator named Antoine. We met with Orion as well. We had dinner, and then after dinner, we walked out and saw this guy, so we went to talk to him. Turns out his wife is in the Spanish Branch here, and hasn't been able to go to church because of her work schedule. He is not a member, but he prefers English to learn in. His name is Fidel, and he told us to come back and see him the next day! We helped vacuum Sister Plett's house, and then saw a few more people. 

Saturday was CRAZY.  We had to meet the Samoan Sisters at the church building at 7am for them to let us into a different church building and to start the font. We got there and they were already inside. We walked in and there was a really loud alarm going off through the entire building. We asked them what is was and how long it had been on for. They said about 20 minutes, that they didn't know what it was or how to turn it off, and then they left us. Sister Smith and I called people like mad for 20 minutes trying to figure out how to turn this dumb alarm off! It was crazy. We finally got the alarm off, and then went to get ready for the day, since we hadn't had the chance to yet. We searched for a bathroom, and started to get ready. About halfway through, I remembered that the font was still filling up, and I bolted back to the microscopic font room just in time to turn the font off before it over flowed over the stairs.  It was an interesting day. Later, after we set up for the baptism, people started to show up - except for the people conducting Orion's baptism! We started without him and the baptismal programs. It was stressful, but ended up being really great. Orion had a great time, and it was so good to see him surrounded with friends that love and care for him. 

We had a lesson with Thea and then a quick dinner and went to set up for Amanda's baptism at the stake center! There was a baptism before ours and right after ours, and there was a ward Halloween party going on throughout the building - it was absolute chaos. To add to the stress of the day, the font filler forgot to come and fill the font, so all the baptisms had to be pushed back a half hour. But again, through the crazy, the small and simple baptismal service for Amanda was sweet and powerful. It was a great day! 

Sunday was pretty normal.  At church both Aanda and Orion were confirmed. It was great! Later, after church, we went to meet with Fidel! He was so excited to get back into a church, and we taught him the Restoration. H was so excited to be baptized, and he is set to be baptized on the 29th of November! That night we went around for Sister Smith to say goodbye to people in the ward! 

Monday was stressful again! We got stuck at the mission office from 12-5pm for Sister Smith's departing interview. But it was fine, we had fun, and got some of our favorite chicken from Raising Cane's :) 

So sad to see Sister Smith leave, I LOVE her and can't wait to live with her in Utah!

Have a great week!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

 

Our District

 Back: Swerdfegger, Davis, Smith, Coltrin, Naeata, Mederios, Claridge, Herron, Keogan
Sitting: Wareham, Tongi

 

CJ, Amanda, Sister Coltrin, Sister Smith

 

 

Sister Coltrin, Orion, Sister Smith

 

 

 

 

 

"It's All About Being Cool and Helping Folks"

THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME! We had so much fun, and saw (and heard) lots of funny things. This is officially Sister Smith's last week in the mission, and we get transfer doctrine on Saturday - this transfer has FLOWN by.

Monday was a blast - literally, we went to play laser tag with our district. Sister Smith and I are the only Sisters, but it was still tons of fun. And Sister Smith was the best one, she beat all the Elders (they would never admit that though)! It's a really cool place that some members own, so they let us play there all p-day! It was awesome. After that we went see Meet the Mormons again with the Loveall's! It was great. We learned that we are the only mission that got permission to see it in theaters! Obviously because the Vegas mission is the most important! So that was pretty cool. We got permission before Elder Holland said that there would be no missionaries in theaters, so they let us still go! 

Tuesday was District Meeting. Sister Smith and I had to give a training on Getting our Investigators to Church. Lucky us, one of the AP's was there on exchanges with our ZLs. It was even more awkward since he had just given a training in the past Zone Conference about getting people to church... hahaha. But it turned out great! The rest of the day was just so weird. One lady took us out to lunch... and when we pulled up we not only realized that she was taking us to eat at a buffet in a casino, but that it was out of the mission. We ended up telling President about it and he just laughed and said "it happens". We went over to meet with Amanda and CJ. It started off great, and we were teaching all about the commandments and their importance. Then all of a sudden, his sister came downstairs and was having seizures and abdominal pain, so they called 911 and the ambulance came and took her. So, it was pretty chaotic, and we were all trying to help her and talk to her. Then they took her in the ambulance and left. And then CJ and Amanda turn to us and are like, "so... the commandments." And we just kept teaching them about the commandments, hahahaha. It was NUTS. We had a quick dinner and then taught Orion and Kaycee. That night we were contacting some people, and we met this guy on the street that told us that he and his wife own a nudist colony... it was the strangest thing ever! The great thing about being a missionary is you can ask them all sorts of questions without being a weirdo, so he told us all about his life, and about how they are wicken's. He told us that his house was super themed, and he let us come in to see (had to check to make sure his wife had clothes on, first, hahaha). Their house was like a jungle, there were trees and fairies and all sorts of mystical stuff. It was hilarious! 

Wednesday was good, too! We met a few people and had a few really good lessons! We met with a new guy named Thomas and taught him the Restoration! He loved it, and he loved the idea of the Book of Mormon. During the lesson he was talking about how he wished he could have the first/original copy of the Bible, so it wasn't all distorted - so obviously he loved the idea of it! We got a call from the family that was supposed to feed us, but they were sick with bronchitis, so we had dinner at the Relief Society President's house! She is so sweet and we love her and her family. After dinner we had a lesson with a new investigator named Chris. We were outside talking with him and his member friend, and the member was telling him about the church and how it's all about "being cool and helping folks" hahaha, it was so funny - and yet, true. We talked to him about Heavenly Father and how he loves us and about repentance. It was such a great lesson! The spirit was so strong. We also met with Adrian that night (9 years old) and he and his family are moving up to Spanish Fork - so Sister Smith and I are going to go see them when we are in Utah! Yay! 

Thursday was another interesting day. We had to take the car to pick up the Elder's that owned the car, and then take all of us to the collision center to pick up our car. On the way out to the car in the morning to bring our stuff from the car inside, this super creepy guy came up and started saying really inappropriate things and asking us for our phone number and where we live. We obviously didn't give it to him. After we sort of told him to leave, he stood off a ways and watched us for a while - it was super creepy. Finally after like 10 minutes, he left, and we ran inside to get our stuff to go pick up the Elders. We got our car, and then we went to teach Amanda and CJ about tithing. We came back to finish weekly planning, and we were talking about the creepy guy, and we were kind of joking about him and said, "what if he stalked us, and came and knocked on our door?" AND THEN HE DID. It was crazy! I saw him walk up the sidewalk, and I gasped, and instantly Sister Smith turned around and slammed the blinds shut. He rang the bell and we bolted back to our room, locked the door, and then went in the closet. He kept ringing and wouldn't go away! We called the ZLs and they told us to call 911. So we called 911. The ZLs showed up about 20 minutes later and told us that he left, and then the police came and told us that if we see him again, we need to call them immediately and they will come and arrest him - hahaha, crazy! They said they've had problems with him before. It was so scary, but hilarious! Welcome to North. Later we went to vacuum Sister Plett's house, and had dinner with the Leavitt's and met with Sister Rock again. Great day, hahaha. 

Friday was interviews! It was so fun. Sister Snow talked to us for a while about relieving stress, and then we got to watch Meet the Mormons as a district, haha! It was the 3rd time me and Sister Smith had seen it- and we LOVE it! Before we all left, President told us that they recently went to a regional meeting where Elder Quinton L Cook talked with all the mission presidents in the southwest region. He told us that Elder Cook told them that in all of North America, the southwest region has the highest success in missionary work! President was looking at the charts after that, and of all 21 missions in the SW region, the Nevada Las Vegas Mission has the highest numbers, and has the most success! So, in case you were wondering, I am literally serving in the most successful mission in all of North America! Woo! We also met with Orion and Amanda and CJ. CJ told us of a completely yellow church outfit that he has, complete with top hat - which he brought out for us, of course. We met with Sherry that night and read more of the BOM with her. Kaycee called us during the day to ask us a question, and she got into talking and told us that we are "gospel superheros" hahaha! She is the cutest. Chris texted us that night and unfortunately he got into some anti-mormon stuff about blacks and the priesthood. We are still working on it, but he is pretty unwilling to meet with us now. It's sad. 

Saturday we got to go to a stake activity with Kaycee! The stake hosted this huge Disney production, where performers from broadway came and did tons of Disney songs - it was so much fun! And they were so talented! We had dinner at the Corbally's house - we had chili and it reminded me of home because it seems like Mom almost always makes chili when the missionaries come over. We also found a hilarious CD in our car that was made by missionaries in the Alaska misson! It is so funny. 

Sunday was great, church in both wards. I stayed for sacrament meeting in our second ward, and they had me come up and bear my testimony. I used the "I'm from Holland... Michigan" joke, and, as always, it was a crowd favorite. Hahahah. People love that one, I don't even know why. We had dinner at the Benner's and had steaks as big as my face, and potatoes that were even bigger! Then we raced off to go to the Why I Believe Fireside! It was Sister Smith's last one, and I realized that I only have one more. Yikes. It was a great fireside though, and Orion got to come. We had a great time, and I got to see Sister Robinson! 

I love my mission. I love Vegas and everything here! I love teaching people about the Gospel! I have never been this happy! 

Pray for me this week, please! I'll need all the help I can get as I begin my last transfer of my mission. Eek.

Have a good week! I love you!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

 

CJ in his top hat

 

 

"Me and the top hat and Mello - the dog with the underbite"

 

 

 

At the Why I Believe Fireside with an investigator

 

This Was A Great Week!

This week was great! 

Monday was p-day and we played at the church for a long time. That night we got to go see the Brown's and teach a new member lesson to the 9-year old, Kawika! Kawika and his brother, Ikaika, are so, so, sooo funny. They're young, but tell us the funniest stories about them at school. We love them! 

Tuesday was district meeting, which was really good. We contacted people, and had dinner that night at one of our Bishop's homes. We had a lesson scheduled with Orion at the church - but his Uncle told us that they were "busy". We had set up a surprise party for Orion because it was his 16th birthday! We had a banner and a cake and everything, it was cute. We decided that we were not letting it go to waste, so we drove over to their house and when Orion came to the door, we yelled Happy Birthday, holding our banner and cake! He had totally forgotten that he was supposed to meet with us that night, and the Uncle came out, and was surprised that we were there, but you could tell that he was happy that we had done something nice for Orion. It was sweet, Orion was so happy. We all ate cake, and sang Happy Birthday, and all that jazz. It was so fun, and before we left, he gave us hugs. He said that no one had done anything for him all day. It was sweet. After that, we got to go over to the Loveall's and do a fun object lesson about praying, reading the scriptures, and going to church. They were so excited to be baptized, Anthony kept talking about it! After that lesson, we went over to see Kaycee. We taught her the Word of Wisdom (while she was holding a bottle of tea... haha). She said it would be hard to give up tea because she loves it, but she would do it! Kaycee is so funny, I love her. She's 11, and you can totally tell! But she loves church and is excited to be baptized. 

On Wednesday we got to go over to see Amanda and CJ and their 9 day old baby, Christopher! HE IS SO CUTE! AND SO SMALL! We walked in, and Amanda was like, "Okay, who wants to hold him first!?" It was a little bit heartbreaking to have to tell her that we are not allowed to hold babies, but we survived. We saw another investigator that night, Sherry and her husband AJ, AJ is getting baptized in December, but Sherry is still unsure. She is studying with her church and loves the Bible, and isn't reading much from the Book of Mormon. We are going to be reading with her a lot. We went and had dinner at a family's home... and their teenage daughter kept making fun of her mom - oh my goodness, it made me feel so bad for anything mean I had ever said to my parents. Sister Smith and I walked out to the car and we were so sad! Renae had an appointment with us, but cancelled it and told us not to pressure her about meeting... so we aren't sure what's going on there, but hopefully everything will be okay. That night we had exchanges, but the sisters were late. They had to go a different route because the road to our apartment was closed because a gunman was on the loose... welcome to North! 

Thursday was exchanges, and I was with Sister Davis here in our wards all day. We got to see a lot of people and teach a lot of lessons, and we street contacted 30 people! We taught Orion about following the Prophet and about the word of wisdom. We got to see Amanda and CJ again and read from the Book of Mormon. CJ's mom was going crazy about us not holding the baby. She really wanted us to... it was sort of awkward. We also got to see a man in our ward who is working on getting re-baptized. He has an awesome story of getting back into the church that he shared with us, and told us that we could help him by coming over and re-teaching him all the lessons. We had ribs for dinner at the Gill's house! They are so awesome and nice. We met again with Sister Rock and then exchanged back. 

Friday was weekly planning, and then we had the Loveall's baptismal interview! We picked up the Elders to bring them to the church, because one of them is sick. They had a few empty water bottles with them, that they filled up at the church... they have no water at their house, so we had to stop somewhere the next day and bring them water. How are you supposed to live on 4 water bottles when you live in the desert and are sick...? But anyways, the interviews were awesome! They both passed and were so excited to be baptized! We quick ran to the Hanna's house and had a 10 minute dinner because we had to go to the Bishop's house for MEET THE MORMONS! The Turner's took us and our investigators to go and see it in a theater (yes, we are allowed to go). It was crazy driving to the West mission, and going to a casino to watch a movie in the theater... hahahah… what an experience as a missionary. We took pictures of it, of course. We LOVED Meet the Mormons! EVERYONE SHOULD GO SEE IT! 

Saturday we had a coordination meeting in the morning, had a lesson with Amanda and CJ, and then got ready for the baptism! It went so well! The spirit was so strong, and it was all just so sweet. Justin was so ready to be baptized and start new, and Anthony was so excited! They both bore their testimonies after, and they were so sweet. We went to their house afterwards for dinner! They both got brand new CTR rings from Justin's wife. We were all so happy!

Church was great! Kaycee sat with us in our first sacrament meeting, and she went up to bear her testimony! She asked me what you do to bear your testimony, and then she wrote out what she wanted to say, and then I went first, and then she bore hers! It was so sweet! And she is only 11! It was great! We went to the other sacrament meeting together so we could both be there when the Loveall's got confirmed. It was a great day!

Today we are going to play laser tag with our district for p-day! We are having such a good time here! I love North! Sister Smith and I have to give a training this week for District Meeting on getting our investigators to church, so let’s hope that goes well.

Happy Birthday to Brenden Murphy this week - love you, B!

Have a great week, everyone!

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

Happy Birthday to Orion!

With Sister Coltrin and Sister Smith

 

 

"Sister Smith and I at the Aliante Casino Theater to see Meet the Mormons on opening night!"

 

 

Sister Smith and Sister Coltrin waiting for the movie to begin

 

 

 

"Black widows line the streets at night here. It's gross."

 

 

"Jayden liked taking pictures, here is just one of them."

 

The Loveall's baptism!

Sister Smith, Jayden, Sister Coltrin, Justin, Anthony, Brother Petty, and Elder Wright

 

 

Another Great Week!

Another great week over here in North Las Vegas! Sister Smith and I have a blast and we love our sweet wards and investigators!  

On Monday we all played at the Stake Center for p-day. And our investigator, Amanda, had her baby! Christopher Jay Askin II. We were so excited! That night we got to go and see a recent convert, 9 year old Kawika. He is the sweetest and most Christ-like 9 year old I have ever met! 

Tuesday we were able to have a couple lessons with new people and other investigators! We met with a man named Clenton, who said that he got interested in the church when he went to the job center here and the people were nice and helped him out. He seemed really sold, but his granddaughter did not seem too happy that he was meeting with us - so we will see! We saw Ms. Poole for a few minutes and prayed with her because she had a doctor's appointment the next day. We also got to see Orion, who was a little nervous about getting baptized, so we were able to talk about baptism and show him pictures, and he felt a lot more confident after that. We met with Renae and taught her the Restoration. It was pretty confusing for her, so we are trying to break it down with her now. We also saw Kaycee and Debby. Kaycee is really excited to get baptized later this month, we read the Book of Mormon and talked about keeping God's commandments. She is the cutest. 

Wednesday we had to do weekly planning early because we were super packed this week. So we spent the morning planning and then had lessons later that night. We got to have dinner at the Anderson's and they invited Kaycee, our investigator to come! It was really sweet to have her there. We also got to meet with the Loveall's. Justin and Anthony are getting baptized this weekend and they are really excited! 

Thursday was Zone Training Meeting! We had dinner with Sister Bacod, and then met with Adrian, a 9 year old investigator and read the Book of Mormon. He was so funny, he wanted to read as much as possible. Then we saw the Loveall's again and talked about the 10 commandments and taught Anthony the hand signs for the 10 commandments to help him remember them. He loved it! He does them all the time now. 

Friday, Sister Smith and I got to go to the temple! It was an incredible experience and a perfect day! We took pictures around the temple, and did a session there, and had lunch. I love the temple and am so thankful for it and the chance we have to go there. We got to see the Loveall's again that night, and taught about fasting and tithing. Anthony was still doing the 10 commandment hand signs He is cute. 

Saturday was General Conference! All the missionaries set up camp in the stake center and watched while we took notes and shared food. Conference was so good! After Conference we contacted some people and had dinner and had coordination meeting. 

Sunday's Conference was great too! After Conference, we got to meet with some of our new investigators that we met this week, here's the story: 

So, Sister Smith and I were walking, and we saw this lady about to get out of her car. She was taking a long time, but we felt like we should slow down and wait. So we walked reaaaaally slow so that we could talk to her. We said hello when she finally got out, and she stared at me and my name tag for like, 45 seconds. It was so weird. She just looked up and said, "Come in." We went inside with her and she told us that she and her family had been meeting with the missionaries 20 years ago, and loved church and coming to church, they got married so that they could get baptized, but then had to move really quickly and were never able to get in contact with the missionaries again. She said she thought of the missionaries often, and even showed us pictures of them! It's a miracle that we were able to talk to her! It was so cool! We are meeting with their family now! Her name is Yvonne and her husband is Alex. There were 2 little kids there at the time and they were so funny! We were talking to them, and asked them what they had done that day, and the boy piped up and said, "We be playin'!" Sister Smith and I laughed so hard. 

We saw Renae the night after dinner at the Holly's house. We read over Joseph Smith's testimony with her and talked about Prophets. 

I love North and Sister Smith! Have a great week!

 

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

 

 

At the Las Vegas Temple

 

 

 

 

At the Las Vegas Temple

"We did our best with a 10 second timer"

 

 

 

 

Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

Sister Coltrin and Sister Smith